Exile
by Arendelle Knight
Summary: Anna made it to Kristoff on the frozen fjord and was saved by a true love's kiss, but what will happen to Elsa? Will the royal sisters of Arendelle ever see each other again?
1. Monsters

**Chapter 1 - Monsters**

"Your sister is dead because of you!"

Elsa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Anna was dead, and it was all her fault. She shut Anna out for 13 years to protect her, but after all that she still failed. She felt sick, her knees gave out from under her, and she collapsed to the snow holding her head in her hands, weeping desperately.

Suddenly the raging storm dissipated, snowflakes standing still in the air as if time itself had stopped. She heard Hans draw his sword, she knew he meant to kill her, but she didn't care. Anna was the only family Elsa had left, and she had killed her. All those years of trying to control her powers and after everything she still lost control and froze her precious sister's heart.

In that moment Elsa knew that she deserved to die for what she had done. Despite what that troll had told her the night she first struck Anna there was no beauty in her magic, only danger, darkness, evil. It wasn't a gift, it was a curse, and she was nothing more than a monster. She knew that she didn't deserve to live, so she waited for death to take her.

* * *

Elsewhere on the frozen fjord Anna was very much alive, but she didn't have long. It was true that Elsa had froze her heart, but she could be saved by an act of true love, she could be saved by a true love's kiss. She had thought that Hans was her true love, but he betrayed her and left her to die. Now her only hope was to get to Kristoff, because she realized, maybe too late, that he truly loved her.

As she slowly froze to death from the inside out Anna's hair had gone from it's natural strawberry blonde color to pure white, and with every step she took she felt her legs freezing stiff. She was sure that they would turn to ice and shatter underneath her, but she had to keep moving if she was to have any chance of surviving.

As the storm cleared Anna looked up and saw Kristoff standing in the distance. He broke into a full sprint for her, but all she could manage was to stumble along towards him. When Kristoff reached Anna he immediately kissed her. In seconds her white hair had returned to it's natural strawberry blonde color, and despite the cold weather around her she felt her entire body warming from the inside.

Just then the storm picked back up, once again becoming a raging blizzard. She wasn't too familiar with her sister's cryokinetic powers, but she had a feeling that this couldn't mean anything good. That feeling was confirmed when she saw Hans stalking towards her holding a sword, a large ice spike sticking out of his midsection, dripping blood as he went.

"Hello Anna," he said with an evil smile. Anna knew that that ice could have only come from Elsa, and her heart sank. "Your sister put up a good fight, but she was no match for me," Hans said as he raised his sword. Kristoff was already trying to pull Anna away, but she was frozen in shock, her eyes filling with tears. "W..what did you d..do to Elsa?" she asked shakily. Hans smirked and said simply "I took her head."

Anna broke down in tears, and Kristoff, knowing that they had to get out of there right then, picked her up and carried her in his arms. They couldn't stay in Arendelle, they couldn't stop running, there would be time to comfort Anna later, but Kristoff knew that if they stayed Hans would kill them both. So he ran, carrying a crying Anna in his arms, wondering how he had gotten himself involved in this whole mess in the first place.

* * *

**Moments ago**

Elsa knew that she didn't deserve to live, so she waited for death to take her. A monster like her didn't deserve to live, then again maybe a monster like her didn't deserve such a quick death, such an easy way out. No, Elsa decided in that moment that she deserved to feel the weight of what she had done for the rest of her life. She deserved to spend the rest of her days in exile, she was after all a monster, and a monster like her didn't deserve an easy way out after what she had done to her poor younger sister.

Elsa turned on Hans, impaling him through the midsection with a spike of ice. She had conjured much larger spikes before, spikes that could have easily killed the prince, but Elsa hadn't been aiming to kill, only to disable her attacker long enough to make her escape. Hans stumbled to the icy ground, dropping his sword with a loud clang, and before he could regain his footing and try again Elsa fled, back to the north mountain, back into exile. She was a monster, and she deserved to live out the rest of her days alone.


	2. Alone

**Chapter 2 - Alone**

Anna stumbled across the frozen fjord, barely able to see where she was going through the howling blizzard. She wasn't quite sure how she got there, but she knew that she had to get to Kristoff. She didn't even know why she had to get to Kristoff, but she knew that somehow it was a matter of life and death, so she kept moving forward.

Suddenly out of the storm came a man she recognized, but he was not Kristoff. Anna couldn't seem to recall who the man was, but she knew that he had betrayed her, that he wanted her dead, and she took a few steps backwards as he approached her menacingly. As he got closer she could see that he was holding something, and when she realized what it was she felt her entire world crashing down around her.

"Hi, Anna," Hans said with a wicked grin. "You really should have died in that room, so you wouldn't have to see your precious sister like this." Elsa's eyes stared at Anna, lifeless and empty as Hans held her severed head by her platinum blonde braid. Anna woke up screaming and Kristoff was by her side in seconds, wrapping his arms around her while she sobbed on his shoulder. The two stayed like this for some time before Anna cried herself back to sleep, and as Kristoff sat there holding her in his arms he silently vowed that if he ever saw Hans again he would make him suffer for what he did to Elsa, for what he did to Anna.

* * *

Hans had returned to the castle just long enough to get himself patched up and briefly address the people, then set off towards the north mountain to finish what he started. He couldn't take any guards with him, because the people of Arendelle all believed Queen Elsa to be dead. He had to do this alone.

The people of Arendelle hadn't embraced Hans as their new king as quickly as he would have liked. Despite the eternal winter she had caused most of Queen Elsa's subjects respected her, respected her family, and they weren't about to bow down to the bastard who had beheaded their beloved queen.

When Hans returned to Arendelle he had told of how Queen Elsa killed her own sister, Princess Anna, and while the people grieved the loss of their princess very few believed that her death was Elsa's doing. But despite what anyone thought of Hans he was the king, and he would do whatever was necessary to stay in power. Of course he would have preferred being loved by his subjects, but if the only way to keep the throne was to make the people fear him then so be it.

Right now that wasn't important. Hans had convinced the people of Arendelle that both their queen and their princess were dead, and he had to finish the job. He couldn't have one of them wandering back into Arendelle alive and well.

* * *

Elsa felt numb. She had cried most of the way up the north mountain, but her tears had run dry, and now she just felt empty. She had tried so hard to protect Anna from her powers, but it was all for nothing. 13 years of solitude, 13 years of wishing she could open the door and embrace her little sister, 13 years that meant absolutely nothing because after all that her worst fear had become a reality.

For 13 years Anna had never given up on Elsa. She kept knocking on her big sister's door and begging her to come out and play with her. Elsa wished every day that she could open the door to Anna, but she knew that if she did she risked hurting her again. For all those years Elsa felt alone, but now she truly was alone. For 13 years Anna had been on the other side of Elsa's door, now Anna was gone forever.

Elsa felt her knees give out from under her as she collapsed to the snowy ground, her body wracked with heaving sobs as fresh tears began flowing freely.


	3. Tormented

**Chapter 3 - Tormented**

Elsa hadn't realized how much damage had been inflicted during her fight with those Weselton guards. At the time she had been fighting for her life, so she wasn't really paying much attention, but the upstairs was destroyed. The chandelier was shattered all over the floor, there was a giant hole in the wall where she had pushed one of the guards out, and the railing of the balcony was gone where she had almost pushed him off the edge to his death.

It started off as self defense, but she kept going even when her attackers were under control. She knew she could have easily disarmed them without taking it any further, but if Hans hadn't stopped her she would have ended two lives that day. "Don't be the monster they fear you are," he had said. Elsa knew now that a monster was exactly what she was. Only a monster would kill her own sister, the only family she had left in the world, the only person who truly loved her, even after she shut her out for 13 years.

All that time Anna never gave up on Elsa. She didn't know why her big sister had shut her out, all she knew was that one day they were playing in the snow together and the next day Elsa wouldn't come near her, wouldn't even tell her why. Despite all that Anna still loved her big sister, even if she thought Elsa didn't love her back. The worst part for Elsa was knowing that she had never truly appreciated how much her little sister loved her until it was too late.

Elsa couldn't help but imagine how painful it must have been, how terrified Anna must have been as she froze to death from the inside out. She pictured poor Anna huddled up on the floor, shivering and scared, all alone. She wondered if she had given up on her in the final moments, if she had stopped loving her. Elsa wouldn't have blamed her if she did. Who could love a monster? Who could love someone who had condemned them to such a slow and painful death?

The image of Anna freezing to death tormented Elsa. She couldn't get it out of her head, and as if to torture her further her mind went back to the words Anna had said to her on her coronation day, right before she froze the summer. "What did I ever do to you?" These words echoed in Elsa's head, and she saw herself in the room with Anna as she froze to death. Her younger sister looked at her with tears in her eyes, trembling from the cold emanating from her heart, and asked "What did I ever do to you?"

"Anna, you didn't do anything wrong. This was my fault, and I'm sorry." Elsa found herself saying the words out loud, even though she was all alone. "I wish I could take it all back, Anna. I wish I could see you just one more time. I wish I could tell you how much you meant to me." Elsa slid down the wall, hugging her knees to her chest and sobbing uncontrollably as the images of Anna freezing to death continued to torment her.

* * *

Anna had barely slept all night, her nightmares waking her every hour or so. Even though he wished that he could let her sleep longer Kristoff knew that they had to put more distance between themselves and Hans. Kristoff knew that if Hans found Anna he would kill her, and he absolutely could not let that happen.

In truth all Kristoff wanted to do was go back and kill Hans slowly and painfully, but Anna's safety was the most important thing to him. He had to put revenge aside, he had to keep her safe. Kristoff had never felt about anyone the way he felt about Anna, and he would do anything to protect her, even give up his own life, but he knew that throwing himself in front of Hans' sword wouldn't save Anna. If the prince found them he would kill them both, so they had to keep moving.

"Are you okay?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth Kristoff mentally kicked himself. Of course she wasn't okay. Who could be okay after losing their sister, the only family they had left, and in such a horrific way? Anna smiled weakly and said "I'll be fine." She knew it was a lie. She wasn't sure if she would ever be fine again. She couldn't get the nightmare out of her head, that horrible image of her big sister's severed head, those empty eyes staring at her. Anna knew that these images would torment her for as long as she lived.

Kristoff couldn't stand to see Anna like this. She looked like someone who had given up on everything, like someone who had nothing left to live for, nothing like the eternally optimistic girl he had met just days earlier. He would do anything to see her smile again, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. Nothing he did could bring her sister back from the dead. He wasn't sure if she could ever be happy again after what happened, and if she couldn't be happy again neither could he.


	4. Frostbite

**Chapter 4 - Frostbite**

Hans carefully climbed the stairs leading to Queen Elsa's ice palace, being especially careful as he passed the missing section of the hand rail that had been broken off during his encounter with the queen's snow monster just days earlier. He didn't even know for sure that Elsa would be inside, but he didn't know where else to look for her, and he had to finish her off before she made her way back to Arendelle.

Elsa was jerked awake when she heard the front door of her ice palace opening. She was still sitting against the wall, having cried herself to sleep. In seconds the queen was on her feet and on full alert. She rushed down the stairs, seeing no sign of whoever had let themselves into her home. Whoever it was they were hiding, so it was safe to assume that they meant her harm. Maybe they believed that her death would end the winter and bring back summer, but she wasn't about to give them the chance to find out.

Hans crept up behind the snow queen with his sword drawn, preparing to strike. He raised his blade high and swung, aiming for Elsa's neck, but at the last second she turned on him, conjuring an intricate ice sword in her left hand and skillfully blocking the incoming blade.

For 3 years before he was lost at sea Elsa's father King Agdar had trained her in swordplay. These lessons were often cut short when she felt herself losing control of her powers and feared hurting her papa, but she had still managed to become fairly skilled with her ice sword, which she had affectionately dubbed Frostbite.

Still this was the first time Elsa had faced an opponent who meant her actual harm, and she found herself scrambling to keep up with Hans' strikes. The prince chuckled darkly as he sliced Elsa's arm, drawing first blood. "Too bad you ran away, Elsa," he said as she staggered backwards wincing in pain. "I could have made your death quick, relatively painless." She swung her sword at his midsection and he blocked it with ease before continuing. "But since you decided to make things difficult, I'm going to take my time, I'm going to watch as the light leaves your eyes."

Elsa swung again, and once again Hans deflected the blade. "You know, I thought that after you froze the summer your people would have welcomed me as their new king with open arms. Anyone but the wicked sorceress who cursed the land with eternal winter." Frostbite almost found it's mark, but Hans managed to jump back and out of the way just in time. He quickly recovered and continued. "But for some reason, even after all that damage you caused, they remain loyal to you."

Hans sliced Elsa's leg, causing her to fall to one knee. He went in for a killing blow but she deflected it from her kneeling position. "Regardless," he said, "I'm the king of Arendelle now, and I will not tolerate disloyalty among my subjects." Hans stepped back, allowing Elsa to regain her footing before resuming his attack. "I would prefer that my subjects love me, but fear is a good motivator as well. When I bring back the head of their beloved queen, they will come to fear me."

Elsa's injured leg was shaky, but she kept her footing as she deflected a swing that would have taken her head off. "Or maybe I should just execute a few of them at random," Hans said, "Maybe that will put the fear in them." Elsa looked at Hans with utter contempt, and only one word came to mind. It was a word she had commonly applied to herself, but never to anyone else. "You monster," she said angrily.

Hans laughed at this. "That's rich," he said, "coming from a woman who killed her own baby sister." At the mention of Anna Elsa lost all control of her emotions, and a raging blizzard formed inside the ice palace. Her strikes became more furious. Hans was barely able to deflect most of Elsa's attacks, but she managed to cut him deeply across the side, making him fall to one knee and drop his sword. Catching herself Elsa took a few calming breaths and willed Frostbite to disappear. She started to walk away from Hans and said as calmly as she could manage, "You should return to Arendelle and get that wound patched up."

As Elsa walked away Hans staggered back to his feet, picking up his fallen sword, and stalked towards Elsa, going in for the kill. Before he even got close Elsa turned and fired an icy projectile at Hans. The prince saw the projectile coming too late and it hit him in the chest, but it didn't pierce his skin, it didn't even tear his clothing. Hans dropped to his knees once again, suddenly feeling extremely cold, not from the winter weather around him, but from within, from his heart. Before Hans could stand Elsa threw a gust of icy wind his way, throwing him out the still open front door and into the snow at the foot of the steps.


	5. Alive

**Chapter 5 - Alive**

It didn't take long for Hans to realize what Elsa had done to him. He felt colder than he had ever felt in his life, and it had nothing to do with the weather. The snow queen had froze his heart, just like she had done to her sister, and Hans knew what would happen next. He wouldn't last more than a day before he froze to death, and unlike Anna there would be no act of true love to save him.

What Hans didn't know was that he had even less time than Anna did after her heart was frozen. When Elsa froze her little sister's heart it had been an accident, but she struck Hans intentionally, she struck him in anger, and because of that he was freezing to death much more rapidly.

Not knowing what else to do Hans started making his way down the mountain towards Arendelle. If he was going to freeze to death he at least wanted to do so in front of witnesses, in front of the population of Arendelle. If he was going to die of a frozen heart he wanted his last act to strike fear into the hearts of Elsa's people, fear of Elsa. He found a twisted sense of comfort in the hope that they would rise up and form a mob to march on the ice palace and kill the queen.

* * *

Elsa didn't feel bad about what she had done. She had given Hans a chance to walk away, to live, but he persisted in trying to kill her. He had sealed his own fate. What had really angered Elsa was how coldly he spoke of Anna's death. This man claimed he loved Anna, that he wanted to marry her, to spend the rest of his life with her, but far from seeming upset he laughed as he spoke of her freezing to death.

What Elsa had done to Anna was of course unforgivable, but she felt no remorse for freezing Hans' heart. Had he been allowed to live he would have no doubt returned to Arendelle and started executing people at random to strike fear into the hearts of his subjects, just one more reason Elsa couldn't bring herself to feel bad for what she had done.

Elsa knew that she wasn't worthy to rule Arendelle. She had cursed the land with an eternal winter, and worse she had killed her own sister, but she didn't wish for her people to be ruled by an evil man like Hans. She hoped that someone more worthy than herself would be put in charge. She hoped that whoever it was could fix the mess she had created of her former home.

* * *

Kristoff had wanted to put as much distance between them and Arendelle as possible, but Anna insisted on going back to the ice palace, so the pair made their way up the north mountain. Kristoff knew that this was important to Anna, to say goodbye to her big sister in some way, and he hoped that doing so would help her move on. Of course it wouldn't bring Elsa back, but if it gave her some small amount of comfort it was worth the risk.

As they got closer to the ice palace the winter storm had picked up. It wasn't as bad as the blizzard on the fjord, but it was becoming harder and harder to see where they were going. Kristoff couldn't help but be a little amused despite the circumstances. When Hans killed Elsa he probably expected to end the winter, to be hailed as a hero for saving Arendelle from destruction, but he had only made things worse. With Elsa gone the winter had spun completely out of control.

Anna was the first to notice the figure trudging towards them through the storm. At first she couldn't make out his face, but as he got closer she gasped in horror. Kristoff's reaction was immediate, pouncing upon Hans and punching him in the face repeatedly. "Stop...p..please...stop," Hans said weakly. Anna's shock had very quickly turned to anger. "Kristoff, stop," she said, "This is the man who killed my sister. He's mine."

Kristoff got off of Hans as Anna approached him with her fist raised, but she stopped short when she noticed that his auburn hair was turning white. Anna smiled for the first time since kissing Kristoff on the frozen fjord, she jumped up and down squealing with delight. "What?" Kristoff asked, and Anna pointed at Hans. "He's freezing to death," she said, throwing her arms around the ice harvester.

Kristoff was taken aback. Sure Hans was a horrible monster, but Anna didn't seem the kind to revel in someone else's suffering. Suddenly he noticed the white streak in the prince's hair and he understood right before Anna said the words. "Elsa's alive! She's alive, Kristoff! My sister's alive!"

Anna cried tears of joy, so lost in the moment that she forgot all about Hans until he spoke up. "Please," he said, "p..please help me." Anna gave him a confused look as more of his hair changed color. "What do you think I can do to help you?" she asked. "Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart." The prince's hair was completely white as Anna knelt beside him, cupping his face in her hands, smiling as she looked into his eyes.

"Oh, Hans," she said, "If only there was someone out there who loved you." As Anna and Kristoff continued on their way to Elsa's ice palace Hans huddled on the ground shivering from the cold as his entire body turned to solid ice and his last icy breath escaped his lips.


	6. Together

**Chapter 6 - Together**

Once again alone with her thoughts, Elsa found her mind going back to the moment she had froze her younger sister's heart. After Elsa fled Arendelle Anna had come looking for her, and she found her in her ice palace on the north mountain.

When Anna told her that she had set off an eternal winter in Arendelle Elsa started to panic, and a storm picked up around her mirroring her emotions. That's when she had released the blast of icy magic that froze her sister's heart. She didn't know at the time what she had done, only that she had struck Anna, but now Elsa knew that was the moment she became the monster everyone feared she was.

Everyone that is except for Anna, her perfect little sister who had never given up on her during her 13 years of isolation, who had never viewed her as a monster, who loved her unconditionally. Elsa was sure that even in her final moments Anna had never stopped loving her, but she couldn't stop picturing her little sister freezing to death, looking up at her with tears in her eyes and asking "What did I ever do to you?"

Intense pain shot through Elsa's injured leg as it buckled under her and she collapsed to the icy floor screaming in agony. She hadn't realized until that moment just how bad her wound had been, just how much blood she had lost, but suddenly she felt dizzy. Elsa's vision started to fade, and before the darkness swallowed her she smiled and said "I'm coming, Anna. We'll be together soon."

* * *

One second Anna and Kristoff were fighting their way up the north mountain through a raging blizzard and the next second the storm was gone completely. Anna tried to convince herself that this was a good thing, but she had a bad feeling that something had gone very wrong.

As if to confirm Anna's worst fears she noticed that the snow was starting to melt all around her. Her heart sank, and even though she was exhausted from the cold and the long walk up the mountain she immediately broke into a full run, leaving Kristoff behind. Tears filled her eyes as she saw the ice palace in the distance. "Please be okay, Elsa."


	7. Please Wake Up

**Chapter 7 - Please Wake Up**

When Anna and Kristoff arrived the ice palace was starting to melt. Anna was the first one up the stairs, and the sight that greeted her when she opened the door crushed her heart. Elsa was lying on the floor in an ever growing pool of blood. Her skin was pale and she wasn't moving, Anna couldn't even tell if she was breathing.

"Please don't do this to me, Elsa," Anna said through choked sobs, rushing to her sister's side, "Please don't leave me like this." She knelt down beside her sister and put two fingers to her neck, holding them there for a few seconds. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt a faint pulse. Elsa was alive, but she had to stop the bleeding right away.

Anna hadn't even noticed Kristoff running to her side. Before she even thought to ask he had ripped off a large piece of his coat which he used to stop the bleeding. "We have to get her out of here," he said, "before this place comes down on top of us." Anna nodded her head as Kristoff lifted Elsa off the floor, taking great care not to touch her wound. He started to run with the queen then turned to see Anna still on her knees in the same spot, looking dazed and out of it.

"Anna," he said, getting her attention, "she's going to be fine, but we have to go right now." She shakily stood up and followed Kristoff out the door and down the stairs. No sooner had they made it back to the safety of solid ground than they heard the stairs collapsing behind them, and mere seconds later the rest of the palace was coming down.

Kristoff didn't know if what he'd told Anna was true or not. He didn't know if Elsa was going to live. With how much blood the queen had already lost it didn't seem like her chances were good, but he had to stay strong for Anna, he had to hold out hope for her. Most importantly they had to get Elsa back to Arendelle, and hope that they weren't already too late.

* * *

Elsa found herself back on the frozen fjord. She heard a voice off in the distance, a voice that seemed somehow familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. "Elsa? Elsa, can you hear me?" She looked around but she couldn't see through the raging storm all around her, a storm she had created, a storm she couldn't stop.

The cold had never bothered her before, but Elsa felt like she was freezing to death from the inside out, and when she looked down at her hands she saw that they were turning to ice, in fact her entire body was turning to ice. She heard the voice again, clearer this time. "Elsa, please don't leave me." Whoever it was sounded like they had been crying. Whoever it was cared about her deeply.

Elsa tried to respond, to tell this person that she wasn't going anywhere, but she couldn't even open her mouth to speak. She started to panic when she realized she couldn't move, she couldn't even turn her head, and she felt so cold. A young woman approached and held Elsa's face in her hands. "Please wake up," the woman said in a choked whisper.

* * *

Anna buried her face in Elsa's chest sobbing. She hadn't left the queen's side for a minute since they had returned to the castle three days ago. In that time Elsa had shown no signs of waking up, and Anna was slowly coming to the realization that she might never hear the sound of her sister's voice again. The only thing keeping her tethered was the sound of Elsa's heartbeat, and she knew that it could stop at any second.

"Please wake up," Anna repeated weakly. "Please, Elsa. You're all I have left." Anna sobbed until she fell asleep on her sister.


	8. Love Will Thaw

**Chapter 8 - Love Will Thaw**

When Anna awoke Elsa still hadn't moved. Her heart was still beating, her breathing was steady, but with every passing minute Anna became more and more certain that her big sister would never wake up. It was like fate was playing a cruel joke on her. She had suffered through the grief of losing her sister, then realized that she was still alive, only to lose her without even getting the chance to speak to her one more time.

"Elsa? Please, I know you're in there." Anna fought back a sob before continuing. "I'm sorry for everything, Elsa. I never should have pushed you at the coronation. I should have listened to you about Hans. You were right about him. If I hadn't been so desperate to marry a man I had just met...you wouldn't have gotten hurt like this." Anna thought she saw Elsa's eyes twitch, but she hadn't slept more than 3 hours in as many days, so it could have just as easily been her imagination. "Elsa? Can you hear me?"

* * *

Elsa did hear Anna, but her voice was distant, barely discernible over the raging storm all around her. She couldn't see where she was going, all she could do was follow Anna's voice. "Elsa, please say something." Elsa tried to respond but she couldn't even hear her own voice over the howling wind. "Please don't leave me, Elsa," Anna begged. Elsa tried to scream "I'm not going anywhere, Anna," but it came out as barely a whisper.

In a second the storm dissipated and Elsa saw Anna standing in front of her. "Anna?" The queen ran towards her sister, but as she got closer Anna froze solid, turning to ice right before her eyes. Elsa dropped to her knees as she saw a final icy breath escape Anna's frozen lips. In a single instant her worst fear had become a reality. Her sister was dead because she couldn't control her curse. Elsa put her face in her hands, weeping bitterly.

* * *

Anna saw a single tear run down Elsa's cheek. "Elsa it's okay," she said, "I'm right here for you." She shook her older sister's shoulders, trying to wake her. "Please don't cry, Elsa. If you cry I'm going to cry too." Anna wiped the tears from Elsa's eyes. "Please, I need you to wake up."

Elsa's eyes fluttered, then flickered open, and the first person she saw was Anna. "Anna? You're alive?" Anna looked confused for a moment, then she understood. Before she could respond Elsa had pulled her into a warm hug. The queen cried tears of joy as she repeated the words "You're alive, you're alive, you're alive."

Now Anna was crying. "I thought you were dead too, Elsa," she said shakily. "Hans...he told me he killed you, cut off your head." Elsa looked at the younger girl sadly. "Oh, Anna," she said, wiping the tears from her little sister's face. "I thought that monster killed you, Elsa," she said between choked sobs, "I thought I lost you."

Elsa held Anna close as the redhead cried on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Anna. If I had known I would have found you." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I thought I killed you when I froze your heart."

Suddenly Elsa pulled away from her sister. "I'm so happy you're alive," she said, "but you need to go." Anna looked hurt, and a little angry. "No, Elsa," she said forcefully, "You're not going to shut me out again. I won't let you." Elsa looked at Anna with pain in her eyes. "It's the only way, Anna. I'm only trying to protect you."

Anna wasn't going to back down. "No," she said, "We'll figure this out together. You will not shut me out again. I love you too much to let you isolate yourself like that again." Suddenly Elsa's face lit up. "That's it. Love." Anna looked at her older sister like she'd lost her mind, but Elsa tried to explain.

"My powers are influenced by my emotions. Back on the north mountain when I was freaking out about freezing the summer...that was when I froze your heart, because I was stressed out, I was panicked, and I lost control." Anna smiled and added "And at the coronation when I pushed you, that's when you got stressed out and froze the summer." Elsa nodded.

"For 13 years I shut you out, I tried to hide all emotion because I feared losing control, but the answer was right there all along." As if to test her theory Elsa conjured a small snowstorm in the room, then willed it away, watching as it vanished into the air. "Love will thaw, Elsa said with a smile. The sisters embraced, and for the first time in forever Elsa did not fear her powers.


End file.
